FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Investors are better able to digest smaller but more extended bond purchases by the European Central Bank when financial markets are calm, the ECB's chief economist said on Monday.
"In more normal market conditions ... investors may become 'more patient', or, in other words, better able to evaluate the stimulus that can be expected to come from a purchase plan that is to be executed over a more extended time interval," Peter Praet said at an event in London.
The ECB will decide later this month on the extension of its asset purchases with policymakers likely considering a longer extension with smaller monthly purchases, or bigger monthly purchases over a shorter period.
(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)